David Kills Goliath
April 23, 2022
Commentary
Goliath walks up to David with a cocky spirit (vv. 41-44). When he sees how young David is, he is insulted to think that Israel would send such an inexperienced, fair complected young lad to fight him. He curses David and says he is going to feed his flesh to the fowls of the air and to the beasts of the field. All of this mockery and the fierceness of the man do not shake the confidence and faith of David. He knows that he is not coming in his own strength but that the Lord will deliver him. He tells Goliath to come ahead with his sword and spear but that he (David) is coming in the name of the Lord, the one whom Goliath hast defied (v. 45). He tells Goliath that he may think he is going to feed him to the fowls and the beasts but, in actuality, he is the one this is going to happen to (v. 46).
As Goliath starts toward David, David runs to meet him and, as he goes, he puts a stone in his sling and hurls it (vv. 47-48). The stone connects with Goliath’s forehead and he falls to the ground (v. 49). David doesn’t have a sword so he takes Goliath’s sword from his sheath and cuts off his head (v. 50). When the Philistines see that their champion is dead, they run and the Israelite army pursues them (v. 51). Saul’s army pursued them to the very gates of their cities, about seven miles from the valley of Elah. As they returned to their own borders, the Israelites plundered the Philistine camps (vv. 52-53). David took the Philistine’s head to Jerusalem, but he stored his armor in his own tent (v. 54).
Although David had played his harp for Saul many times, Saul inquired as to who this young lad was that had just killed Goliath (vv. 55-58). I believe this only points out the fact that Saul was so self-centered that he didn’t even bother to find out who this young man was who played soothing music for him. Some bible scholars say that David was probably only 12 years old when he played the harp for Saul and now he is 17 or 18, so Saul didn’t recognize him as the same person.
Application
When I meet up with giants in my life, I need to have faith in God to deliver me. God’s help to man is always supernatural and beyond human possibilities.
1 Samuel 17:48– 58 (NET)
48 The Philistine drew steadily closer to David to attack him, while David quickly ran toward the battle line to attack the Philistine. 49 David reached his hand into the bag and took out a stone. He slung it, striking the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank deeply into his forehead, and he fell down with his face to the ground.
50 David prevailed over the Philistine with just the sling and the stone. He struck down the Philistine and killed him. David did not even have a sword in his hand. 51 David ran and stood over the Philistine. He grabbed Goliath’s sword, drew it from its sheath, and after killing him, he cut off his head with it. When the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they ran away.
52 Then the men of Israel and Judah charged forward, shouting a battle cry. They chased the Philistines to the valley and to the very gates of Ekron. The Philistine corpses lay fallen along the Shaaraim road to Gath and Ekron. 53 When the Israelites returned from their hot pursuit of the Philistines, they looted their camp. 54 David took the head of the Philistine and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put Goliath’s weapons in his tent.
55 Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army, “Whose son is that young man, Abner?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, O king, I don’t know.” 56 The king said, “Find out whose son this boy is.”
57 So when David returned from striking down the Philistine, Abner took him and brought him before Saul. He still had the head of the Philistine in his hand. 58 Saul said to him, “Whose son are you, young man?” David replied, “I am the son of your servant Jesse in Bethlehem.”